Welcome to the North America Analysis August 2017 edition where we look at a number of key areas within Canada and the US such as healthcare, the environment, and science
The edition starts with a piece from Dr. Chris Lynch, Director of the Office of Nutrition Research at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). In an interview with Editor Laura Evans, Dr. Lynch explores the links between diet and health. We also highlight Huntington’s disease with an article from Jennifer Simpson from the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. In her piece, Jennifer outlines why there is still a long way to go before the disease can be truly understood.
Also in the US section of the supplement, the focus is given to environmental health science. Virginia Guidry and Kimberly Gray from the National Institute of Environment Health Sciences, NIH, discuss in their article how it can be used to identify potential hazards in a child’s environment. We also shed light on the work of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and how they support work to tackle climate change and help to protect marine health.
Canada
The Canadian section kicks off with an excellent piece from Minister for Health Jane Philpott. Her article focuses on the work of the Canadian government to tackle antibiotic resistance. A global problem, AMR reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics, making it hard to treat certain infectious diseases. Philpott outlines the Canadian Action Plan and how they are strengthening systems to tackle and prevent the problem.
Minister for Transport, Marc Garneu also writes an article in this section, which outlines the importance of the transportation network for Canadian communities, as well as the economy. We also outline the work of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to pioneer scientific advancement in Canada.
Other topics we take a closer look at in this edition include, support for Indigenous communities, research excellence in Ontario, speech and language problems, as well as forests and biodiversity. As always, I hope you find this edition informative and I welcome any comments that you may have.